The present invention deals with a full ballistic shield that can be carried by hand by an individual to protect that individual from bullets and the like in both the bottom portion of the body and the upper portion of the body, including the head and shoulders. The upper portion of the shield is a clear, unframed plastic plate that enhances the field of view of the user and provides ballistic protection.
Ballistic protection apparati, such as ballistic shields, are used for a variety of different applications such as, for example, military personnel can use the shield in close combat with an enemy; law enforcement personnel can also use the shields for projection during tactical operations and, some non-combative personnel can use them for crowd control activities, and the like.
Many shields are made of materials that make them relatively light in weight and yet they still remain protective. Some shields allow for the ability to mount or support weapons on the shield. In addition, some shields only protect the bottom portion of the body.
Another shield is a riot or capture shield having high intensity light arrays attached to it which can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,943, that issued Apr. 9, 2002 to Tocci, et al.
Yet another apparatus is a riot shield that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,947 that issued to Eran Bauer, et al on Jul. 4, 1989 which can be linked with a like apparatus to give a larger shield.
All of the aforementioned shields are not ballistic shields, that is, they are not protective against bullets.
Ballistic shields can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,601, that issued Feb. 17, 2004 to Avi Cohen, et al. The shield provides a central panel and two wing panels wherein the wing panels swing in behind the central panel to provide added protection.
A further disclosure can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,356,540, that issued on Jan. 22, 2013 to Preibe, et al in which there is shown an apparatus which provides advanced protection for first incident responders.
Another ballistic shield is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,571, which issued Nov. 19, 2013 to Armellino in which there are two panels, a lower panel and an upper panel. The upper panel is larger than the lower panel and the upper panel has an opening for weapons to be used, it being alleged that the use of such a panel cuts down on the movement of the entire shield curing the firing of a weapon.
The patentee states that the shield can be prepared from chemically reinforced layers of structural reinforcing fibers such as aramid, polyethylene, and/or fiberglass. The patentee also states that the shield portion 10 can also be made from other materials such as hard plastic or a metal such as iron or steel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,675 that issued Oct. 24, 2006 to Sand, deals with a portable ballistic shield and shooting platform. Thus, it does not deal with a personal, portable shield.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,716,748 that issued May 18, 2010 to Dovner deals with a protective shield having an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion carries a view port which is limited in size as opposed to the device of the instant invention which gives a much more open view and non-obstruction of the field of view.
Shields, in general, are fairly popular and are used for a variety at end use applications. One such shield can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,379, issued on Jan. 9, 2001 to Taylor in which there is disclosed a releasable bullet resistant desk top for use in schools and the like.